No way man, I appreciate it! I had the RCBS hand primer 10-12 years ago when Ibwas doing this. It was alright, made the process a little faster but thats about it. No matter the tool used, its all about the "feel" of seating a primer. I dont mind using the press, it does a fine job once that feel is established. Saw your old beauty and thought Id ask. I just got my press. It looked alot brighter red in the pictures so thought I was getting a later model. When I opened the box, I was like whoa. Vintage Bonanza! I certainly wasn't going to complain. Im very happy. Once I start to recoop from the fortune I just spent, I'll start to get the extras to make life easy again but for now, I am being as cheap as possible.
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What did you do in the reloading room today?
- Thread starter Kisssofdeath
- Start date
No way man, I appreciate it! I had the RCBS hand primer 10-12 years ago when Ibwas doing this. It was alright, made the process a little faster but thats about it. No matter the tool used, its all about the "feel" of seating a primer. I dont mind using the press, it does a fine job once that feel is established. Saw your old beauty and thought Id ask. I just got my press. It looked alot brighter red in the pictures so thought I was getting a later model. When I opened the box, I was like whoa. Vintage Bonanza! I certainly wasn't going to complain. Im very happy. Once I start to recoop from the fortune I just spent, I'll start to get the extras to make life easy again but for now, I am being as cheap as possible.
This is why I’m using a CPS now. No more feel to seating primers. Set it for flush, and then add however many thousandths of anvil compressing you want and go. Pull handle until it stops and done. Primer seated the same way every single time.
@Dthomas3523 which brand tool did you use for neck turning...and what was your final neck thickness you settled on?
I use an F Class Product’s IDOD. It does both inside and outside of the necks.
I take mine down to about .011 on stuff like 6.5/6x47 Fairly thin but not too thin. But it lets me turn both inside and outside as uniform as possible. If I get into some thicker brass (.014 or greater) I’d probably keep it to .012 or .0125.
The downside at the moment, I’ll probably have a few early split necks until I change everything over to tighter neck reamers. Not a big deal though. I don’t worry too much about the clearance/split necks as I do about making better ammo at the moment.
A cheaper alternative and also allows you to stay a bit thicker is the 21st century lathe. I use it when I just want to skim turn or when I’m forming brass that comes out with a ton of runout.
@Dthomas3523 ..hhmm...now I remember you...or someone else posting a pic/video of that product...so I know a little about it.
So...dumb question...what are you using size the necks ALL the way to the shoulder? I have some Sinclair Mandrels that will do the inside...but I don't think my LE Wilson neck sizer gets all the way to the junction.
So...dumb question...what are you using size the necks ALL the way to the shoulder? I have some Sinclair Mandrels that will do the inside...but I don't think my LE Wilson neck sizer gets all the way to the junction.
You mean for dies? I have Forster non bushing dies without the expander ball. That usually takes the necks down enough to size back up with a mandrel for neck tension.
If the necks are too thin and it won’t, I have Redding bushing dies. Doesn’t size neck all the way, but that’s not a big deal. The other option is custom honed dies.
I have a 21st Century neck turning lathe heading my way. I've never seriously turned necks before. I believe you don't waste time doing something that you won't see any benefits from...due to your inabilities. Over the last two years I've got my long range abilities back to where they were before I walked away from the game...and have surpassed where I once was. Now using a K&M arbor press I can actually feel the difference in seating force...and I'll mark the brass and randomly put it in one of my 5 shot groups...when I shoot a flyer...it is almost always a marked piece of brass...but I don't know that when pulling the trigger.....really...I don't.
I'm starting to work through some of my reloading issues and changed a lot for precision.....I'm finally down to neck turning....maybe...maybe...one day...I'll progress to the point in my abilities..that I'll be down to testing primer depth
My preferred niche is 1mile+ with a 300PRC.
I'm starting to work through some of my reloading issues and changed a lot for precision.....I'm finally down to neck turning....maybe...maybe...one day...I'll progress to the point in my abilities..that I'll be down to testing primer depth
My preferred niche is 1mile+ with a 300PRC.I have a 21st Century neck turning lathe heading my way. I've never seriously turned necks before. I believe you don't waste time doing something that you won't see any benefits from...due to your inabilities. Over the last two years I've got my long range abilities back to where they were before I walked away from the game...and have surpassed where I once was. Now using a K&M arbor press I can actually feel the difference in seating force...and I'll mark the brass and randomly put it in one of my 5 shot groups...when I shoot a flyer...it is almost always a marked piece of brass...but I don't know that when pulling the trigger.....really...I don't.
I'm starting to work through some of my reloading issues and changed a lot for precision.....I'm finally down to neck turning....maybe...maybe...one day...I'll progress to the point in my abilities..that I'll be down to testing primer depth
You should see a noticeable drop in ES with neck turning.
I’ve done the same thing with my hydro press. I’ll mark a case that has noticeably more or less seating pressure. When running over chrono, the marked one is the one that will jump the ES up.
I bought some .40 bullets and hp-38 powder over the weekend and finished sizing all my .40 cases, just waiting on some primers. No store had them in stock and I haven’t just ordered them yet. Soon...
I re-sized/de-primed all of my .30-06 cases. Will take them to work next Monday and clean all of them
I also took all of my de-primed .45 & 9mm cases to work to clean them. I dumped them all into an empty paint can with some sand and shook them-gently and not for very long- in the paint shaker. This made more work for me, which should have been obvious to me but it wasn’t. I had quite a few 9mm cases and a few grains of sand stuck in some .45 cases, live and learn. Then washed them in our cabinet parts washer and rinsed them with a hose. **Since I have a worthless union/city job and didn’t have anything to do today, I got paid to clean my cases today. Awesome**
I re-sized/de-primed all of my .30-06 cases. Will take them to work next Monday and clean all of them
I also took all of my de-primed .45 & 9mm cases to work to clean them. I dumped them all into an empty paint can with some sand and shook them-gently and not for very long- in the paint shaker. This made more work for me, which should have been obvious to me but it wasn’t. I had quite a few 9mm cases and a few grains of sand stuck in some .45 cases, live and learn. Then washed them in our cabinet parts washer and rinsed them with a hose. **Since I have a worthless union/city job and didn’t have anything to do today, I got paid to clean my cases today. Awesome**
Installed a Forster 3 N 1 trimmer on the LE Wilson brass trimmer.
Just finished a few plinking rounds for the 10mm and AR10. I also just found some much needed powder at the LGS, so more of this to come.
I load in the garage as well...it can get humid in the summer. I squirt a little Hornady One Shot on the dies that I don't intend on using for a few weeks or more and put them back on the shelf.
I almost picture you saying, "Imagine the wife's surprise!!..."
Added: I learned a new one. I've usually typically cleaned with a saturated cloth with Imperial wax. If the carbon is fresh or loose it nearly wiped away. If not I used a brillo pad to get the carbon off. After several firings, this gets harder and harder. So, a friend of mine told me to use Never Dull. It won't harden the brass like other chemical cleaners, and takes that carbon right off. This in about 10-20 seconds. Much easier than polishing in a vibratory cleaner.
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I got to use my bullet puller.
175gr TMK .308 over CFE 223.
.3 grain increments up to book max. Mild pressure signs on the 3rd increment. Hard ejector marks on the 4th which should been a good place to stop. Max book blew the primer out-Mother fucker sure was fast though. Back to Varget and the bench.
175gr TMK .308 over CFE 223.
.3 grain increments up to book max. Mild pressure signs on the 3rd increment. Hard ejector marks on the 4th which should been a good place to stop. Max book blew the primer out-Mother fucker sure was fast though. Back to Varget and the bench.
Annealed 100 7 saum cases and loaded them with 168 and 190 Berger’s.
They are on their 13th firing now.
They are on their 13th firing now.
I ordered a longer threaded shaft to replace the Wilson cutter shaft. The 3n1 trimmer has an inner diameter of .490" and the shaft is .500" OD so the new shaft needs to be turned down to .489" so the trimmer will fit. The Grainger shaft I bought is too long by about an inch so I used an abrasive saw to cut it down to 3.5". You need to leave about 3/8" to 1/2" extra length on the shaft to be able to retract the cutter from the case mouth when finished trimming. I don't have a lathe so I chucked the shaft up in my drill press and carefully sanded the last half inch down to .489" with 150 grit sandpaper. The new shaft was hardened so sanding it down took about 40 minutes. The hardest part was sanding it down so it had a consistent diameter.
You will also need a thread adapter because the shaft thread is 5/16-18 and the Wilson handle threads are 7/16-20. I couldn't find a shaft with the correct threads. The thread adapter will protrude from the handle just enough to get the locknut on it. Use a thick washer to take up the space left between the shaft shoulder and the locknut (locknut comes with the Wilson trimmer handle). If you have access to a lathe there are quite a few precision ground unhardened shafts available so you could get one of those instead and cut your own threads.
Since the 3n1 trimmer takes up quite a bit more space than original Wilson trimmer, I drilled a new mounting hole for the shaft holder about halfway between the original hole and the edge of the base. This allows you to move the shaft holder further out to give a bit more space for the 3n1 trimmer. Be aware that this still doesn't give you the same max case capacity as with the original Wilson trimmer. I measured my setup with the modification and it will accommodate a max case length of about 2.615". The maximum capacity can be fine tuned a little bit by either carefully measuring the length you cut the shaft to or by using 1/2" ID washers or spacers between the handle locknut and the shaft holder. Since I'm shooting 6.5 Creed it isn't an issue with my cases.
It did take a few tries to get the trimmer situated on the shaft so there was almost no runout. This will probably not be an issue if you can turn the new shaft down to size on a lathe.
Parts list:
Shaft: Grainger threaded shaft
Thread adapter: McMaster thread adapter
5/16" x 1/16" flat washer
Spacer: 1/2" spacer
Unassembled:
Assembled:
Assembled on trimmer:
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Running a primer comparison test with a 6BR. Left, Rem 7.5, right CCI 400.
Past data showed excellent results with CCI BR 4's, they are all gone. Plenty of 7.5 and 400's on hand, looking for accuracy results without adding another component to the to the inventory. Burning H322, again, plenty on hand.
Past data showed excellent results with CCI BR 4's, they are all gone. Plenty of 7.5 and 400's on hand, looking for accuracy results without adding another component to the to the inventory. Burning H322, again, plenty on hand.
Running a primer comparison test with a 6BR. Left, Rem 7.5, right CCI 400.
Opps! Those look like they have primers in them!!!
View attachment 7335538
Past data showed excellent results with CCI BR 4's, they are all gone. Plenty of 7.5 and 400's on hand, looking for accuracy results without adding another component to the to the inventory. Burning H322, again, plenty on hand.
Decided to polish the funnels on my Dillon powder measures (x4). Before and after photos. Used a Mothers car-wheel polishing cone on my cordless drill. Took about 5 minutes per powder measure (not including disassembly/assembly).
Didn’t try for a mirror finish since the casting is pretty rough. Plenty good enough for powder measures that weren’t giving me any problems previously. Sometimes I just can’t help but tinker.
Didn’t try for a mirror finish since the casting is pretty rough. Plenty good enough for powder measures that weren’t giving me any problems previously. Sometimes I just can’t help but tinker.
Transferring loaded rounds from coffee cans to MTM boxes for a Prairie Dog trip. Getting guns, bags, rest,a another gear together for an early morning departure.
Today I setup my first reloading bench and have started down the path. Got a great mentor and a lot of books. The sticky threads and this forum has been a huge help. The press is an extra from my mentor to get me going while I’m getting my feet wet.
Cleaned 2 x .308 bolt guns, 1 .300wm bolt gun, 2 ARs
Loaded some .223 with 55 gn VMax, some .45/70 with 325 Gn and some .308 with 125 Gn
Got a ton of brass to trim, chamfer and deburr that I've been putting off......
Loaded some .223 with 55 gn VMax, some .45/70 with 325 Gn and some .308 with 125 Gn
Got a ton of brass to trim, chamfer and deburr that I've been putting off......
Starting to use a lee power quick trim on 223 in a single stage. 3 way trim.
Results were ok but the drill I had to use was a problem.
Need inline screwdriver lower rpm.
About 35$ for 1 caliber and 13$ a piece for next.
Not the top tier stuff by far but functions.
Results were ok but the drill I had to use was a problem.
Need inline screwdriver lower rpm.
About 35$ for 1 caliber and 13$ a piece for next.
Not the top tier stuff by far but functions.
Learned I have to install primers BEFORE dropping the powder! FML!
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Definitely been there...Learned I have to install primers BEFORE drop the powder! FML!
Learned I have to install primers BEFORE dropping the powder! FML!
Done that more times than I care to admit.
Mounted the Competition Primer Seater today. Still need to get the base mounted to the Workbench.
LolLearned I have to install primers BEFORE dropping the powder! FML!
I I relearned that just last week
I’m smokin a cigar and sizing 7 saum brass.
Got this fabulous hydro base today from dc firearms.
Framed a poster of a drawing done by one of my friends. From time to time I give her cash for art supplies to help her keep going. She does tattoo drawings and other drawings for people. Makes me happy seeing her doing it. Put it up on the wall behind my bench.
Otherwise, just some cleaning. Vacuumed the carpet, brushed off my bench.
Otherwise, just some cleaning. Vacuumed the carpet, brushed off my bench.
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